Monster - A. Lee Martinez [63]
“Yep, that’s it.”
“You don’t think they wanted to hurt her, do you?”
“How would I—”
Chester kicked Monster under the table.
Monster offered his most reassuring smile. “I mean, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Your sister can take pretty good care of herself. Trust me.”
Greta politely smiled back. “Do you know what I find most disturbing about this? It’s how unreal it seems, even now. I still can’t wrap my head around it. I know I should be really worried about Judy, but it’s all too unbelievable.”
“I’m afraid the rune can only help you recognize magic,” said Chester. “It can’t make it more acceptable to your underdeveloped brain. There’s really not a way around that.”
“What if they never find Judy? What if I never see her again? How will I even remember what happened to her without this stuck to my head?”
Monster and Chester hesitated.
“What will happen?” she asked more insistently.
“You aren’t going to like the answer,” said Monster.
“Tell me, damn it!”
“Those incidents that are harder to ignore usually result in a sort of autopilot response. At its most extreme, it’s called a complete incognizant fugue, and it allows incogs to forget days, years, family, friends. They’ll overlook anything that they can’t understand and anything related to it as well.”
“You’re saying I’ll forget about her. I’ll forget about my own sister.”
“It’ll be easier for your mind to do that than accept magic,” said Chester. “Sorry, miss.”
“But I’m sure it won’t come down to that,” added Monster. “I’m sure everything will be fine. The Reds are pretty good at handling this kind of thing. It’s what they’re paid for, right?”
“Yes, of course. Thank you, Mr. Dionysus. You’ve been very kind to take the time to explain this to me.”
“No problem.” Monster made a show of looking at his watch, tapping it loudly with his fingers. “Is that the time? I really have to get going. There’s this… uh… thing I’ve got to do. Real important, uh, thing. Magic stuff, y’know. You wouldn’t understand.”
Greta frowned. “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”
Monster reached over and pulled the posted rune off her forehead before she could react. Almost immediately, the haze fell over Greta. The effect wasn’t normally so fast. There were different levels of light cogs, and Greta was more susceptible than her sister. The stressful nature of the memories also made it easier to shuffle them into her subconscious. The irony was that by explaining things to her, Monster had made it even easier for her to forget. Now they were no longer merely mysteries she didn’t comprehend. They were secrets she couldn’t absorb.
She looked Monster over with a vague recognition. “Don’t I know you?”
“I don’t think so.” Monster pushed away from the table and left before she could think about it.
“You induced a full fugue,” said Chester. “And you did it on purpose.”
“What else could I do?” said Monster. “It was the only merciful thing. She couldn’t help her sister. Now she can move on at least. She would’ve forgotten anyway. I just helped her forget faster so she could get on with her life. I don’t feel good about it either, but I don’t hear you coming up with a better idea. It’s easy to criticize.”
“You’re right,” said Chester. “I guess it was the only option.”
“It’ll all work out. I’m sure Judy will show up in a few days and it won’t make a damn bit of difference whether her sister worries an extra few hours about her then.”
“I said you’re right. What more do you want?”
“I just like hearing it. You don’t say it nearly enough.”
“Be right more often and I would.”
“Do you think I’m happy about it? But I’m not a cop. And every time Judy and I meet, one or both of us is almost killed. Greta was just going to forget eventually. From a practical perspective, it might as well be sooner than later. Save her some unnecessary stress. And when Judy shows up again, her sister probably won’t even remember any of it.”
They crossed the street and watched Greta finish her coffee. She paid the bill, then quietly got up and walked away.
“You could’ve at least paid for the coffee,” said Chester.
“And I